The University of Soudern Cawifornia (USC[a] or SC) is an American privateresearch university in Los Angewes, Cawifornia. Founded in 1880, it is de owdest private research university in Cawifornia.[9] USC has historicawwy educated a warge number of de nation's business weaders and professionaws. The university has awso used its wocation in Los Angewes to estabwish rewationships wif research and cuwturaw institutions droughout Asia and de Pacific Rim. An engine for economic activity, USC contributes US$8 biwwion annuawwy to de economy of de Los Angewes metropowitan area and Cawifornia.[10]

For de 2017–18 academic year, dere were 19,170 students enrowwed in four-year undergraduate programs.[5] USC awso has 26,517 graduate and professionaw students in a number of different programs, incwuding business, waw, engineering, sociaw work, and medicine.[5]

The University of Soudern Cawifornia was founded fowwowing de efforts of Judge Robert M. Widney, who hewped secure donations from severaw key figures in earwy Los Angewes history: a Protestant nurseryman, Ozro Chiwds, an Irish Cadowic former-Governor, John Gatewy Downey, and a German Jewish banker, Isaias W. Hewwman. The dree donated 308 wots of wand to estabwish de campus and provided de necessary seed money for de construction of de first buiwdings. Originawwy operated in affiwiation wif de Medodist Church, de schoow mandated from de start dat "no student wouwd be denied admission because of race." The university is no wonger affiwiated wif any church, having severed formaw ties in 1952.

When USC opened in 1880, tuition was $15.00 per term and students were not awwowed to weave town widout de knowwedge and consent of de university president. The schoow had an enrowwment of 53 students and a facuwty of 10. The city wacked paved streets, ewectric wights, tewephones, and a rewiabwe fire awarm system. Its first graduating cwass in 1884 was a cwass of dree—two mawes and femawe vawedictorian Minnie C. Miwtimore.

The cowors of USC are cardinaw and gowd, which were approved by USC's dird president, de Reverend George W. White, in 1896. In 1958, de shade of gowd, which was originawwy more of an orange cowor, was changed to a more yewwow shade. The wetterman's awards were de first to make de change.[d]

"Tommy Trojan" is a major symbow of de university, dough he is not de mascot.

USC students and adwetes are known as Trojans, epitomized by de Trojan Shrine, nicknamed "Tommy Trojan", near de center of campus. Untiw 1912, USC students (especiawwy adwetes) were known as Fighting Medodists or Wesweyans, dough neider name was approved by de university. During a fatefuw track and fiewd meet wif Stanford University, de USC team was beaten earwy and seemingwy concwusivewy. After onwy de first few events, it seemed impwausibwe USC wouwd ever win; however, de team fought back, winning many of de water events, to wose onwy by a swight margin, uh-hah-hah-hah. After dis contest, Los Angewes Times sportswriter Owen Bird reported de USC adwetes "fought on wike de Trojans of antiqwity", and de president of de university at de time, George F. Bovard, approved de name officiawwy.

During Worwd War II, USC was one of 131 cowweges and universities nationawwy dat took part in de V-12 Navy Cowwege Training Program which offered students a paf to a Navy commission, uh-hah-hah-hah.[21]

USC is responsibwe for $8 biwwion in economic output in Los Angewes County; USC students spend $563 miwwion yearwy in de wocaw economy and visitors to de campus add anoder $37.9 miwwion, uh-hah-hah-hah.[10]

In 2017, de university came into de nationaw spotwight when de Los Angewes Times pubwished information about Carmen A. Puwiafito, de dean of USC's medicaw schoow. After accusations of drug use, he resigned from his position as dean in 2016 and was fired from de schoow de fowwowing year after de news stories were pubwished. His medicaw wicense was subseqwentwy suspended pending a decision wheder it shouwd be terminated.[24]

The fowwowing year, de Los Angewes Times broke anoder story about USC focusing on George Tyndaww, a gynecowogist accused of abusing 52 patients at USC. The reports span from 1990 to 2016 and incwude using racist and sexuaw wanguage, conducting exams widout gwoves and taking pictures of his patients' genitaws. Inside Higher Ed noted dat dere have been "oder incidents in which de university is perceived to have faiwed to act on misconduct by powerfuw officiaws[25]" when it reported dat de university's president, C. L. Max Nikias, is resigning. Tyndaww was fired in 2017 after reaching a settwement wif de university. The schoow did not report him to state medicaw audorities or waw enforcement at de time, dough de LAPD is now investigating Tyndaww. As of June 1, 401 peopwe had contacted a speciaw hotwine to receive compwaints about de doctor.[26] On October 18, it was reported dat nearwy 100 women fiwed new wawsuits against de university, bringing de number of accusations up to over 500 current and former students.[27] USC agreed to pay $215 miwwion as a settwement after hundreds of women cwaimed de schoow did not address deir compwaints. The agreement is awaiting de approvaw of de court.[28]

The University Park campus is in de University Park district of Los Angewes, 2 miwes (3.2 km) soudwest of Downtown Los Angewes. The campus's boundaries are Jefferson Bouwevard on de norf and nordeast, Figueroa Street on de soudeast, Exposition Bouwevard on de souf, and Vermont Avenue on de west. Since de 1960s, drough campus vehicwe traffic has been eider severewy restricted or entirewy prohibited on some doroughfares. The University Park campus is widin wawking distance to Los Angewes wandmarks such as de Shrine Auditorium, and Los Angewes Memoriaw Cowiseum. Most buiwdings are in de Romanesqwe Revivaw stywe, awdough some dormitories, engineering buiwdings, and physicaw sciences wabs are of various Modernist stywes (especiawwy two warge Brutawist dormitories at de campus's nordern edge) dat sharpwy contrast wif de predominantwy red-brick campus. Widney Awumni House, buiwt in 1880, is de owdest university buiwding in Soudern Cawifornia. In recent years de campus has been renovated to remove de vestiges of owd roads and repwace dem wif traditionaw university qwads and gardens. The historic portion of de main campus was wisted on de Nationaw Register of Historic Pwaces in 2015.

Zumberge Haww, one of de originaw buiwdings on de University Park Campus

The Schoow of Powicy, Pwanning, and Devewopment awso runs a satewwite campus in Sacramento. In 2005, USC estabwished a federaw rewations office in Washington, D.C. A Heawf Sciences Awhambra campus howds The Primary Care Physician Assistant Program, de Institute for Heawf Promotion and Disease Prevention Research (IPR), and de Masters in Pubwic Heawf Program.

USC was devewoped under two master pwans drafted and impwemented some 40 years apart. The first was prepared by de Parkinsons in 1920, which guided much of de campus's earwy construction and estabwished its Romanesqwe stywe and 45-degree buiwding orientation, uh-hah-hah-hah.

The Von KweinSmid Center of Internationaw and Pubwic Affairs, topped by a 5,500 wb (2,500 kg) gwobe, is de tawwest structure on campus.[29] Buiwt under de second master pwan, refwected a trend towards modernism.

The second and wargest master pwan was prepared in 1961 under de supervision of President Norman Topping, campus devewopment director Andony Lazzaro, and architect Wiwwiam Pereira. This pwan annexed a great deaw of de surrounding city and many of de owder non-university structures widin de new boundaries were wevewed. Most of de Pereira buiwdings were constructed in de 1970s. Pereira maintained a predominantwy red-brick architecture for de new buiwdings, but infused dem wif his trademark techno-modernism stywings. More recentwy under President C. L. Max Nikias, de architecturaw orientation of de campus has moved towards a Godic Revivaw stywe, taking cues from de incuwative and schowastic stywes of Oxford University and Harvard University, whiwe underpinning USC's own historic identity dat is present in de red-brick construction, uh-hah-hah-hah.

USC's rowe in making visibwe and sustained improvements in de neighborhoods surrounding bof de University Park and Heawf Sciences campuses earned it de distinction of Cowwege of de Year 2000 by de Time/Princeton Review Cowwege Guide.

Roughwy hawf of de university's students vowunteer in community-service programs in neighborhoods around campus and droughout Los Angewes. These outreach programs, as weww as previous administrations' commitment to remaining in Souf Los Angewes amid widespread cawws to move de campus fowwowing de 1965 Watts Riots, are credited for de safety of de university during de 1992 Los Angewes Riots. (That de university emerged from de riots compwetewy unscaded is aww de more remarkabwe in wight of de compwete destruction of severaw strip mawws in de area, incwuding one just across Vermont Avenue from de campus's western security fence.) The ZIP code for USC is 90089 and de surrounding University Park community is 90007.

The Leavey Library, compweted in de mid-1990s, refwected a shift to designs cwoser to earwier, Romanesqwe architecture.

In September 2014, de University began construction on USC Viwwage, a 1.25 miwwion sqware foot residentiaw and retaiw center directwy adjacent to USC's University Park Campus on 15 acres of wand owned by de university.[46] The USC Viwwage has over 130,000 sqware feet of retaiw space on de ground fwoor, wif student housing on de four fwoors above. The $700 miwwion project is de biggest devewopment in de history of USC and is awso one of de wargest in de history of Souf Los Angewes. Wif a grand opening hewd on August 17, 2017,[47] de USC Viwwage incwudes a Trader Joe's, a Target, a fitness center, a Trojan Town USC store, restaurants and outdoor dining, 400 retaiw parking spots, a community room, and housing for 2,700 students.[48]

In addition to de Los Angewes County+USC Medicaw Center, which is one of de nation's wargest teaching hospitaws, de campus incwudes dree patient care faciwities: USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Keck Hospitaw of USC, and de USC Eye Institute. USC facuwty staffs dese and many oder hospitaws in Soudern Cawifornia, incwuding de internationawwy accwaimed Chiwdren's Hospitaw Los Angewes. The heawf sciences campus is awso home to severaw research buiwdings such as USC/Norris Cancer Research Tower, Institute for Genetic Medicine, Ziwkha Neurogenetic Institute, Harwyne J. Norris Cancer Research Tower and Ewi and Edyde Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Ceww Research. The Keck Hospitaw of USC is ranked No. 7 out of 415 hospitaws in de State of Cawifornia by U.S. News & Worwd Report.[50]

In Juwy 2013, de University expanded its medicaw services into de foodiww communities of nordern Los Angewes when it acqwired de 185 bed Verdugo Hiwws Hospitaw in Gwendawe, Cawifornia. USC pwanned on making at weast $30 miwwion in capitaw improvements to de faciwity, which was officiawwy renamed USC Verdugo Hiwws Hospitaw. This 40-year-owd hospitaw provides de community a 24-hour emergency department, primary stroke center, maternity/wabor and dewivery, cardiac rehabiwitation, and imaging and diagnostic services.[51]

Chaffey Cowwege was founded in 1883 in de city of Ontario, Cawifornia, as an agricuwturaw cowwege branch campus of USC under de name of Chaffey Cowwege of Agricuwture of de University of Soudern Cawifornia. USC ran de Chaffey Cowwege of Agricuwture untiw financiaw troubwes cwosed de schoow in 1901. In 1906, de schoow was reopened by municipaw and regionaw government and officiawwy separated from USC. Renamed as Chaffey Cowwege, it now exists as a community cowwege as part of de Cawifornia Community Cowwege System.

Bovard Haww, home of USC's centraw administration, shortwy after compwetion in 1921; de streets water became pedestrian-onwy

USC is a private pubwic-benefit nonprofit corporation controwwed by a Board of Trustees composed of 50 voting members and severaw wife trustees, honorary trustees, and trustees emeriti who do not vote. Voting members of de Board of Trustees are ewected for five-year terms. One fiff of de Trustees stand for re-ewection each year, and votes are cast onwy by de trustees not standing for ewection, uh-hah-hah-hah. Trustees tend to be high-ranking executives of warge corporations (bof domestic and internationaw), successfuw awumni, members of de upper echewons of university administration, or some combination of de dree.

The university administration consists of a president, a provost, severaw vice-presidents of various departments, a treasurer, a chief information officer, and an adwetic director. The current president is Wanda Austin who was appointed de interim president by de Board of Trustees when de former president C. L. Max Nikias resigned in 2018. In 2008, Nikias' predecessor, Steven Sampwe, was one of de highest paid university presidents in de United States wif a sawary of $1.9 miwwion, uh-hah-hah-hah.[54]

The USC Dana and David Dornsife Cowwege of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, de Graduate Schoow, and de 17 professionaw schoows are each wed by an academic dean. USC occasionawwy awards emeritus titwes to former administrators. There are six administrators emeriti.

The Undergraduate Student Government (USG) makes decisions representing de undergraduate students of de university. It consists of an appointed executive weadership board, popuwarwy ewected wegiswative branch, and judiciaw oversight, awong wif a programming board (commonwy referred to as "Program Board"). Aww USG activities are funded by de student activity fee, which de Treasurer has controw over setting and de Senate approves. In addition to USG, residents widin university housing are represented and governed by de Residentiaw Student Government (RSG), which is divided by residence haww. The Graduate Student Government (GSG) consists of senators ewected by de students of each schoow proportionaw to its enrowwment and its activities are funded by a graduate and professionaw student activity fee.

The USC Department of Pubwic Safety (DPS) is one of de wargest campus waw enforcement agencies in de United States,[55] currentwy empwoying 306 fuww-time personnew and 30 part-time student workers.[56] DPS's patrow and response area incwudes a 2.5 sqware miwe area around USC's main campus.[57] The Department of Pubwic Safety headqwarters is on de University Park campus, and dere is a substation on de Heawf Sciences campus. The department operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Aww armed USC Pubwic Safety Officers (approximatewy 120) are reqwired to be powice academy graduates[58] so dey can be appointed reserve powice officers wif sworn peace officer audority anywhere in de state whiwe on duty under Cawifornia Penaw Code 830.75.[59]

USC is a warge, primariwy residentiaw research university.[63] The majority of de student body was undergraduate untiw 2007, when graduate student enrowwment began to exceed undergraduate.[64] The four-year, fuww-time undergraduate instructionaw program is cwassified as "bawanced arts & sciences/professions" wif a high graduate coexistence. Admissions are characterized as "most sewective, wower transfer in"; 95 undergraduate majors and 147 academic and professionaw minors are offered.[63][65] The graduate program is cwassified as "comprehensive" and offers 134 master's, doctoraw, and professionaw degrees drough 17 professionaw schoows.[63][65] USC is accredited by de Western Association of Schoows and Cowweges.[65] The university was ewected to de Association of American Universities in 1969.[66] USC's academic departments faww eider under de generaw wiberaw arts and sciences of de Dana and David Dornsife Cowwege of Letters, Arts, and Sciences for undergraduates, de Graduate Schoow for graduates, or de university's 18 professionaw schoows.[67]

The USC Dana and David Dornsife Cowwege of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, de owdest and wargest of de USC schoows, grants undergraduate degrees in more dan 130 majors and minors across de humanities, sociaw sciences, and naturaw/physicaw sciences, and offers doctoraw and masters programs in more dan 20 fiewds.[76] Dornsife Cowwege is responsibwe for de generaw education program for aww USC undergraduates, and houses a fuww-time facuwty of approximatewy 700, more dan 6500 undergraduate majors (roughwy hawf de totaw USC undergraduate popuwation), and 1200 doctoraw students. In addition to 30 academic departments, de Cowwege awso houses dozens of research centers and institutes. In de 2008–2009 academic year, 4,400 undergraduate degrees and 5,500 advanced degrees were awarded. Formerwy cawwed "USC Cowwege of Letters, Arts & Sciences", de Cowwege received a $200 miwwion gift from USC trustees Dana and David Dornsife on March 23, 2011, after which de Cowwege was renamed in deir honor, fowwowing de naming pattern of oder professionaw schoows and departments at de University.[77] Aww Ph.D. degrees awarded at USC and most master's degrees are under de jurisdiction of de Graduate Schoow.[78] Professionaw degrees are awarded by each of de respective professionaw schoows.

Schoow of Cinematic Arts.

The Schoow of Cinematic Arts, de owdest and wargest fiwm schoow in de country, confers degrees in six different programs.[79][80] As de university administration considered cinematic skiwws too vawuabwe to be kept to fiwm industry professionaws, de schoow opened its cwasses to de university at warge in 1998.[81] In 2001, de fiwm schoow added an Interactive Media & Games Division studying stereoscopic cinema, panoramic cinema, immersive cinema, interactive cinema, video games, virtuaw reawity, and mobiwe media. In September 2006, George Lucas donated $175 miwwion to expand de fiwm schoow, which at de time was de wargest singwe donation to USC (and its fiff over $100 miwwion). The donation wiww be used to buiwd new structures and expand de facuwty.[82] The acceptance rate to de Schoow of Cinematic Arts has consistentwy remained between 4-6% for de past severaw years.

The USC Schoow of Architecture was estabwished in 1916, de first in Soudern Cawifornia. From at weast 1972 to 1976, and wikewy for a number of years prior to 1972, it was cawwed The Schoow of Architecture and Fine Art. The Schoow of Fine Art (known as SOFA for a number of years after Architecture and Fine Art separated) was eventuawwy named de Roski Schoow of Fine Arts in 2006 during a ceremony to open, de den, new Masters of Fine Art buiwding occupying de previous and compwetewy refurbished, Lucky Bwue Jean factory. This smaww department grew rapidwy wif de hewp of de Awwied Architects of Los Angewes. A separate Schoow of Architecture was organized in September 1925. The schoow has been home to teachers such as Richard Neutra, Rawph Knowwes, James Steewe, A. Quincy Jones, Wiwwiam Pereira and Pierre Koenig. The schoow of architecture awso cwaims notabwe awumni Frank Gehry, Jon Jerde, Thom Mayne, Raphaew Soriano, Gregory Ain, and Pierre Koenig. Two of de awumni have become Pritzker Prize winners. In 2006, Qingyun Ma, a distinguished Shanghai-based architect, was named dean of de schoow.[83]

The USC Thornton Schoow of Music is one of de most highwy regarded music schoows in de United States. The training at de Thornton Schoow freqwentwy draws graduate students from such institutions incwuding Juiwwiard, Oberwin Cowwege, Rice, and de Eastman Schoow of Music; and graduates of de Thornton Schoow often go on to study at dese and oder institutions, such as de Cowburn Schoow, de Curtis Institute of Music, or de Manhattan Schoow of Music. The most active source of wive music in aww of Los Angewes, de Thornton Schoow offers everyding from medievaw music to current music. In addition to de departments of cwassicaw music, dere is a department for popuwar music and even a department of earwy music, making USC's music schoow one of de few in de United States dat offers speciawized degrees in pre-cwassicaw music.

The Andrew and Erna Viterbi Schoow of Engineering is headed by Dean Yannis Yortsos. Previouswy known as de USC Schoow of Engineering, it was renamed on March 2, 2004, in honor of Quawcomm co-founder Andrew Viterbi and his wife Erna, who had donated $52 miwwion to de schoow. Viterbi Schoow of Engineering was ranked No. 9 in de United States in U.S. News & Worwd Report's engineering rankings for 2013–14.

The Annenberg Schoow for Communication & Journawism

The Annenberg Schoow for Communication & Journawism, founded in 1971, is one of de two communication programs in de country endowed by Wawter Annenberg (de oder is at de University of Pennsywvania). The Schoow of Journawism, which became part of de Schoow for Communication in 1994,[84] features a core curricuwum dat reqwires students to devote demsewves eqwawwy to print, broadcast and onwine media for de first year of study. The journawism schoow consistentwy ranks among de nation's top undergraduate journawism schoows.[85] USC's Annenberg Schoow's endowment rose from $7.5 miwwion to $218 miwwion between 1996 and 2007.[86] In 2015, de new buiwding named for Wawwis Annenberg started serving aww facuwty and students.

The Herman Ostrow Schoow of Dentistry at de University of Soudern Cawifornia was estabwished in 1897 as The Cowwege of Dentistry, and today awards undergraduate and graduate degrees. Headed by Dean Avishai Sadan, D.M.D., de schoow traditionawwy has maintained five Divisions: Academic Affairs & Student Life, Cwinicaw Affairs, Continuing Education, Research, and Community Heawf Programs and Hospitaw Affairs. In 2006, de USC Department of Physicaw Therapy and Biokinesiowogy, and de USC Department of Occupationaw Science and Occupationaw Therapy, which bof had previouswy been organized as "Independent Heawf Professions" programs at USC's Cowwege of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, were administrativewy awigned under de Schoow of Dentistry and renamed "Divisions," bringing de totaw number of Divisions at de Schoow of Dentistry to seven, uh-hah-hah-hah. In 2010, awumnus Herman Ostrow donated $35 miwwion to name de schoow de Herman Ostrow Schoow of Dentistry. In 2013 de schoow introduced an eighf division, and in 2014 a $20 miwwion gift endowed and named de USC Mrs. T.H. Chan Division of Occupationaw Science and Occupationaw Therapy.

In May 2006, USC's Board of Trustees and administration travewed to China to announce de estabwishment of de USC U.S.-China Institute (USCI). USCI focuses on de muwtidimensionaw and evowving U.S–China rewationship and trends in China. USCI has funded research into a variety of topics incwuding de history of U.S.–China dipwomatic exchanges, aging, property rights, environmentaw chawwenges, agricuwturaw powicy, new media, migration, and technowogy exchange. The Institute produced de highwy regarded Assignment:China[87]documentary series on American media coverage of China from de 1940s to today. It awso pubwishes two magazines, US-China Today' and Asia Pacific Arts.

In 2012, USC estabwished de Gworya Kaufman Schoow of Dance, de university's first new schoow in 40 years,[88] which was a gift from phiwandropist Gworya Kaufman.[88] The USC Kaufman Schoow offers individuaw cwasses in techniqwe, performance, choreography, production, deory and history open to aww students at USC.[89] Beginning in de faww of 2015, de USC Gworya Kaufman Schoow of Dance offers a Bachewor of Fine Arts degree to a sewect number of undergraduates who wish to pursue dance as deir major.[89] This four-year professionaw degree wiww be housed in de state-of-de-art Gworya Kaufman Internationaw Dance Center, which is now under construction, uh-hah-hah-hah.[89]

The first true wibrary was housed in de Cowwege of Liberaw Arts Buiwding ("Owd Cowwege"), which opened in 1887 and was designed to howd de entire USC Cowwege student body—55 students. Two wings were added to de originaw buiwding in 1905.

The USC Warner Bros. Archives is de wargest singwe studio cowwection in de worwd. Donated in 1977 to de University of Soudern Cawifornia's Schoow of Cinematic Arts, by Warner Communications, de WBA houses departmentaw records dat detaiw Warner Bros. activities from de studio's first major feature, My Four Years in Germany (1918), to its sawe to Seven Arts in 1968.

In addition to de Shoah Foundation, de USC Libraries digitaw cowwection highwights incwude photographs from de Cawifornia Historicaw Society, Korean American Archives Automobiwe Cwub of Soudern Cawifornia, and de Chinese Historicaw Society of Soudern Cawifornia. The USC Digitaw Library[92] provides a weawf of primary and originaw source materiaw in a variety of formats.

In October 2010, de cowwections at ONE Nationaw Gay & Lesbian Archives, de wargest repository for documents from de wesbian, gay, bisexuaw and transgender (LGBT) community in de worwd, became a part of de USC Libraries system.[93] The cowwections at ONE incwude over two miwwion archivaw items documenting LGBT history incwuding periodicaws; books; fiwm, video and audio recordings; photographs; artworks; ephemera, such cwoding, costumes, and buttons; organizationaw records; and personaw paper.

USC's 22 wibraries and oder archives howd nearwy 4 miwwion printed vowumes, 6 miwwion items in microform, and 3 miwwion photographs and subscribe to more dan 30,000 current seriaw titwes, nearwy 44,000 feet (13,000 m) of manuscripts and archives, and subscribe to over 120 ewectronic databases and more dan 14,000 journaws in print and ewectronic formats. Annuawwy, reference transactions number cwose to 50,000 and approximatewy 1,100 instructionaw presentations are made to 16,000 participants.[94] The University of Soudern Cawifornia Library system is among de top 35 wargest university wibrary systems in de United States.[95]

The Leavey Library is de undergraduate wibrary and is open 24 hours a day. The newwy open basement has many discussion tabwes for students to share doughts and have group discussions. The Edward L. Doheny, Jr. Memoriaw Library is de main research wibrary on campus

USC was ranked 21st in U.S. News & Worwd Report's 2018 annuaw ranking of nationaw universities.[107] In de Niche Best Cowweges rankings, USC ranked 10f overaww for 2016 based on academics and qwawity of student wife.[108] USC is ranked 31st among nationaw universities in de U.S. and 49f in de worwd by de Academic Ranking of Worwd Universities, and 13f (tied wif seven oder universities) among nationaw universities by The Center for Measuring University Performance.[109] In 2015, USA Today ranked USC 22nd overaww for American universities based on data from Cowwege Factuaw.[110] Among top 25 universities, USC was ranked by U.S. News & Worwd Report as having de 4f most economicawwy diverse student body.[111]Reuters ranked USC as de 14f most innovative university in de worwd in 2015, as measured by de university's gwobaw commerciaw impact and patents granted.[112] USC was ranked 15f overaww in de 2016 inauguraw Waww Street Journaw/Times Higher Education ranking of U.S. cowweges.[113]

In 2016, USC was ranked as a "Top 10 Dream Cowwege" for bof parents and students according to The Princeton Review, as conferred from a survey of 10,000 respondents. USC appeared in de top 10 wist for bof parents and students.[114]

The Howwywood Reporter ranked de Schoow of Cinematic Arts de No. 1 fiwm schoow in de United States for de dird year in a row in 2014.[120] In addition, USA Today ranked de Schoow of Cinematic Arts de No. 1 fiwm schoow in de United States in 2014. The program's range of cwasses, faciwities, and cwose proximity to de industry were de primary reasons for dis ranking.[121]

The Princeton Review ranked USC video game design program as 1st out of 150 schoows in Norf America.[124] The university's video game design programs are interdiscipwinary, invowving de Interactive Media & Games Division of de Schoow of Cinematic Arts and de CS Games program in de Department of Computer Science at de USC Viterbi Schoow of Engineering.[125]

USC has a totaw enrowwment of roughwy 43,000 students, of which 19,000 are at de undergraduate and 24,000 at de graduate and professionaw wevews.[64] Approximatewy 53% of students are femawe and 47% are mawe. For de entering first-year cwass, 43% of incoming students are drawn from Cawifornia, 42% from de rest of de United States, and 15% from abroad.[130] USC's student body encompasses 12,300 internationaw students, de second most out of aww universities in de United States.[131] Of de reguwarwy enrowwed internationaw students, de most represented countries/regions are China (Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan not incwuded), India, Souf Korea, and Taiwan area, in dat order.

Like oder private universities, de nominaw cost of attendance is high, however de university's warge endowment and significant revenue streams awwow it to offer generous financiaw aid packages.[132] Additionawwy, USC is one of de highest ranked universities to offer hawf-tuition and fuww-tuition merit-based schowarships.[133] These factors have propewwed USC into being de 4f most economicawwy diverse university in de nation, uh-hah-hah-hah.[134]

Twenty percent of admitted and attending students are SCions, or students wif famiwiaw ties to USC, whiwe 14 percent are de first generation in deir famiwy to attend any form of cowwege. Twenty-four percent of undergraduates at USC are Peww Grant-ewigibwe, which is defined by having come from a famiwy househowd income of wess dan $50,000.[135] There are approximatewy 375,000 wiving Trojan awumni.[136]

More dan 64,000 students appwied for admission to de undergraduate cwass entering in 2018, wif 12.9% being admitted.[144] Among enrowwed freshman for Faww 2017, de interqwartiwe range for SAT composite scores was 1300 – 1500 and de average unweighted GPA was 3.76.[143] Thirty-four percent of de accepted students in 2018 had perfect GPAs of 4.0 and 60 percent scored in de 99f percentiwe on standardized tests. There were 257 Nationaw Merit Schowars enrowwed during de 2016-17 academic year (incwuding 60 recipients of de prestigious Nationaw Merit $2,500 Schowarship), ranking USC dird in de nation, uh-hah-hah-hah. USC was ranked de 10f most appwied to university in de nation for faww 2014 by U.S. News & Worwd Report.[145]

The USC Trojans participate in de NCAA Division I Footbaww Boww Subdivision (FBS) as a member of de Pac-12 Conference and have won 123 totaw team nationaw championships, 97 for men and 26 for women, incwuding non-NCAA championships. Of dis totaw, 80 and 14 are NCAA Nationaw Championships for men and women, respectivewy. The NCAA does not incwude cowwege footbaww championships in its cawcuwation, uh-hah-hah-hah. Awdough dere are muwtipwe organizations dat name nationaw championships, USC cwaims 11 footbaww championships. The men's 361 Individuaw Championships are de second-best in de nation and 53 ahead of dird pwace, Texas Longhorns. USC's cross-town rivaw is de University of Cawifornia, Los Angewes (UCLA), wif whom dere is fierce adwetic and schowastic competition, uh-hah-hah-hah. USC's rivawry wif University of Notre Dame predates de UCLA rivawry by dree years. The Notre Dame rivawry stems mainwy from de annuaw footbaww game pwayed between dese two universities and is considered one of de greatest rivawries in cowwege adwetics.[162]

USC has won 104 NCAA team championships, 3rd behind Stanford (117) and cross-town rivaw UCLA (116).[17] The Trojans have awso won at weast one nationaw team titwe in 26 consecutive years (1959–60 to 1984–85). USC won de Nationaw Cowwege Aww-Sports Championship, an annuaw ranking by USA Today of de country's top adwetic programs, 6 times since its inception in 1971. Four Trojans have won de James E. Suwwivan Award as de top amateur adwete in America: diver Sammy Lee (1953), shot putter Parry O'Brien (1959), swimmer John Naber (1977) and swimmer Janet Evans (1989).

Women's teams have earned 27 nationaw championships. The Women of Troy have brought home 64 individuaw NCAA crowns. Two Women of Troy adwetes have won de Honda-Broderick Cup as de top cowwegiate woman adwete of de year: Cheryw Miwwer (1983–84) and Angewa Wiwwiams (2001–02). And Trojan women have won 8 Honda Awards, as de top femawe adwete in deir sport.

As one of de owdest universities in Cawifornia, de University of Soudern Cawifornia has a number of traditions. USC's officiaw fight song is "Fight On", which was composed in 1922 by USC dentaw student Miwo Sweet wif wyrics by Sweet and Gwen Grant.[165]

USC has rivawries wif muwtipwe schoows. Awdough generawwy wimited to footbaww, USC has a major rivawry wif Notre Dame.[166] The annuaw game is pwayed for de Jewewed Shiwwewagh. The rivawry has featured more nationaw championship teams, Heisman trophy winners, Aww-Americans, and future NFL haww-of-famers dan any oder cowwegiate match-up. The two schoows have kept de annuaw game on deir scheduwes since 1926 (except 1942–44 because of Worwd War II travew restrictions) and de game is often referred to as de greatest intersectionaw rivawry in cowwege footbaww.[167][168][169][170][171]

USC's most famous rivaw is UCLA, wif whom dere is fierce adwetic and schowastic competition, uh-hah-hah-hah. Bof universities are in Los Angewes and approximatewy 10 miwes (16 km) apart. Untiw 1982 de two schoows awso shared de same footbaww stadium, de Los Angewes Memoriaw Cowiseum. The victor of de annuaw footbaww game takes home de Victory Beww. The Trojans and Bruins awso compete in a year-wong aww-sports competition for de Lexus Gauntwet Trophy. Pranks between UCLA and USC were commonpwace severaw decades ago. Bof universities have cracked down on pranks since a 1989 incident when USC students reweased hundreds of crickets into de main UCLA wibrary during finaws week.[172] Days before a cwash between rivaws UCLA and USC in 2009, de Bruins mascot was vandawized. It was spwashed in cardinaw and gowd paint, USC's officiaw cowors sparking memories of pranks pwayed in de years earwier.[173] The week preceding de annuaw footbaww matchup wif UCLA is known as "Troy Week" and features a number of traditions incwuding CONQUEST! "The Uwtimate Trojan Experience", Save Tommy Night, de CONQUEST! Bonfire, and aww-night vigiws by de Trojan Knights to protect de campus from UCLA Bruins.

In addition, USC has rivawries wif oder Pac-12 schoows, particuwarwy de Stanford Cardinaw as dey are de onwy two private universities in de Pac-12 Conference and are situated at opposing regions of Cawifornia, as weww as being de two owdest private research universities in Cawifornia, 1880 and 1891 respectivewy. Recentwy, a rivawry has begun to exist between USC and de University of Oregon because of de two universities' dominant footbaww programs, wif each schoow often serving as de toughest match-up on de opponent's scheduwe.

Travewer, a white Andawusian horse, is de university's officiaw mascot. It first appeared at a footbaww game in 1961, was ridden by Richard Saukko, and was known as Travewer I. The current horse is known as Travewer VII.

Tommy Trojan, officiawwy known as de Trojan Shrine, is a bronze statue in de modew of a Trojan warrior at de center of campus. It is commonwy mistaken as de schoow's officiaw mascot. The statue was modewed after Trojan footbaww pwayers, and de statue is engraved wif de ideaw characteristics of a Trojan, uh-hah-hah-hah. It is a popuwar meeting point for students and a wandmark for visitors.

In de 1940s, George Tirebiter, a car-chasing dog, was de most popuwar unofficiaw mascot. After it bit de mascot of de UCLA Bruins, it gained fame among students, and was kept by de Trojan Knights. The dog was known to chase down cars on Trousdawe Parkway, which runs drough campus. After de originaw dog died, dree oders succeeded it. A statue was buiwt in 2006 to honor de unofficiaw mascot.

The USC band was onwy one of two American groups invited to march in de Hong Kong Chinese New Year parade in 2003 and 2004. The Trojan Marching Band performed at de 2005 Worwd Expo in Nagoya, Japan. In May 2006, de Trojan Marching Band travewed to Itawy, performing once in Fworence, and twice in Rome (incwuding in front of de Cowiseum). The band has awso, for many years, performed de 1812 Overture wif de Los Angewes Phiwharmonic Orchestra (or occasionawwy wif oder orchestras) each year at de Howwywood Boww "Tchaikovsky Spectacuwar".[182]

For over 45 years, de USC Song Girws have been considered as de "Crown Jewews of USC Spirit."[183] Founded in 1967, de USC Song Girws appear at aww footbaww, basketbaww, and vowweybaww games as weww as oder sporting events, rawwies, and university and awumni functions.[184] The sqwad awso performs internationawwy. The sqwad has travewed to Itawy, Austria, France, Hungary, Czech Repubwic, Japan, China and Austrawia, most recentwy having travewed to Miwan, Itawy to perform at de 2015 Worwd Expo on America's Independence Day. Unwike oder cowwege cheer teams, Song Girws are primariwy a dance sqwad and do not perform gymnastics, stunts or wead cheers.[185] The Song Girws perform to de music of and often appear wif The Spirit of Troy. Togeder wif de Trojan Marching Band, dey are a visibwe pubwic face of de University and function as de ambassadors of spirit and goodwiww for de Trojan Famiwy.

The USC Song Girws fowwow de university's code in portraying an image of cwass, sophistication and advanced choreography. Their trademark white uniforms trimmed in Cardinaw and Gowd have become a recognizabwe and estabwished part of de University's traditions. Three-dozen or more dances are choreographed and performed wif each new year. The dedication, woyawty and qwest for continuaw improvement are hawwmarks of de USC Song Girw program. The USC Song Girws are dance adwetes focused in continuing de university's "Tradition of Trojan Excewwence".

Lindwey Bodweww founded de USC Yeww Leading Sqwad in 1919 in his first year as a student at USC. He fewt dat togeder, wif a few friends, he couwd aid in "firing up" de crowd during footbaww games.[186] The USC Yeww Leaders worked cwosewy wif The Spirit of Troy and de Song Girws to wead cheers and perform stunts to rawwy Trojan fans at footbaww, basketbaww, and vowweybaww games. The sweater-cwad team consisted of aww men for most of its existence, dough de sqwad water opened itsewf up to appwicants from bof sexes and did feature one femawe Yeww Leader in 1998.[187] They were disbanded by de University after de 2005–06 season and repwaced by de co-ed Spirit Leaders.[188]

The USC Spirit Leaders are responsibwe for weading stadium wide chants and increasing crowd participation at aww Trojan adwetic events, incwuding footbaww and basketbaww games. Working in proud partnership wif de Trojan Marching Band and de USC Song Girws, de USC Spirit Leaders hewp to create a winning atmosphere for aww Trojan adwetes.[186]

The Daiwy Trojan has been de student newspaper of USC since 1912 and is a primary source of news and information for de campus. It secured de first interview of President Richard Nixon after his resignation, uh-hah-hah-hah. The pubwication does not receive financiaw aid from de university and instead runs entirewy on advertisement revenue. Pubwished from Monday to Friday during de faww and spring semesters, de newspaper turns into de Summer Trojan during de summer term and pubwishes once a week. It is de paper of record on campus.

Trojan Vision (often abbreviated as TV8) is de Student tewevision station at USC. TV8 was estabwished in 1997 by de Annenberg Schoow for Communication, but is now a part of de Schoow of Cinematic Arts. Trojan Vision broadcasts 24/7 from de Robert Zemeckis Center for Digitaw Arts to de University Park Campus on Channew 8.1 and onwine drough deir website. Programming is awso made avaiwabwe to de greater Los Angewes community on wocaw channew LA36. In addition to a sewection of reguwarwy airing shows of many genres, Trojan Vision awso broadcasts de shows Pwatforum, a round-tabwe debate show; Annenberg TV News, a news program; and CU@USC, an interview program, wive every weeknight from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm.[189]

Ew Rodeo is USC's student-run yearbook. One of de owdest student traditions at de university, de first edition was reweased in 1889 and was originawwy cawwed The Sybiw. The name was changed to Ew Rodeo in 1899 to refwect de cowboy-demed events students drew to advertise de yearbook as a "roundup" of de year's events. It was wong packaged wif de Student Activity Card, which gave students access to aww home sports games. Since de card was dissowved in 2007, de yearbook has been sowd as a stand-awone item.[190]

The Greek Community, making up approximatewy a fiff of de student body, has had a wong and infwuentiaw history on de campus. Centered on a portion of West 28f Street known as "The Row", between Figueroa Street and Hoover Street just norf of campus, USC's Greek system began soon after de schoow's founding when Kappa Awpha Theta founded a chapter in 1887.[citation needed]

Outside de Panhewwenic and Interfraternity conferences, de Greek community at USC is very diverse, boasting de Muwticuwturaw, Asian, Inter-Fraternity (composed of professionaw fraternities), and de Nationaw Pan-Hewwenic (historicawwy bwack) Counciws. Organizations governed by dese counciws incwude chapters of some of de owdest Latino and Bwack Greek organizations in de country and de owdest Asian fraternity in Soudern Cawifornia; whiwe awso incwuding estabwished professionaw business, engineering, and pre-waw fraternities and oder muwticuwturawwy based groups.[citation needed]

Fountain outside of Doheny Library wif de Von KweinSmid Center; bof buiwdings were used in de fiwm The Graduate as stand-ins for UC Berkewey.

Because of USC's proximity to Howwywood, cwose ties between de Schoow of Cinematic Arts and entertainment industry, and de architecture on campus, de university has been used in numerous movies, tewevision series, commerciaws, and music videos. USC is freqwentwy used by fiwmmakers, standing in for numerous oder universities. According to IMDB, USC's campus has been featured in at weast 180 fiwm and tewevision titwes.[191]

a.^ The awternative name "Soudern Caw" freqwentwy appears in sports-rewated news articwes. USC discourages use of "Soudern Caw" out of concern de name might suggest a foundationaw association to de University of Cawifornia, Berkewey (commonwy known as "Caw" in de adwetics context), even dough de two institutions have no affiwiation oder dan deir Pac-12 membership. For severaw years, USC's media guides contained de fowwowing reqwest: "Note to de media: In editoriaw references to adwetic teams of de University of Soudern Cawifornia, de fowwowing are preferred: USC, Soudern Cawifornia, So. Cawifornia, Troy and Trojans for men's or women's teams, and Women of Troy for women's teams. PLEASE do not use Soudern Caw (it's wike cawwing San Francisco 'Frisco' or Norf Carowina 'Norf Car.'). The use of 'Soudern Caw' on wicensed apparew and merchandise is wimited in scope and necessary to protect federaw trademark rights."[199]

c.^ The NCAA does not conduct a championship for Footbaww Boww Subdivision footbaww. Instead, teams are awarded championships by various private organizations, currentwy de recognized championships are awarded by de Boww Championship Series and titwes by de Associated Press.